New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 69. Sincere Lies (4)

 

After signing contracts with two Game Companies, I returned to the Fund Office.

 

Since I had already contacted him by phone, the General Manager personally greeted me at the door.

 

“Congratulations on the successful contracts. You managed to close difficult deals quickly.”

 

“It’s thanks to the Fund Employees who prepared everything thoroughly.”

 

“Your own excellent skills also played a part, Song Sang-yeon. Now only one place remains.”

 

“The remaining one hasn’t been established for long, so I’m considering how to approach them.”

 

“Are you perhaps considering a company acquisition?”

 

The General Manager immediately understood my dilemma.

 

While Encore and Nextron already had scale and only allowed Equity Shares acquisition,

 

Neo Marvel was a startup, so acquiring the entire Company itself could be considered rather than just Equity Shares.

 

“I think we could acquire 51% or more of the Equity Shares for 5 billion won.”

 

“49% and 51% Equity Shares are like heaven and earth. The moment management premium is attached, the price jumps dramatically.”

 

“I have no intention of taking management rights. If the condition is that the Founding Owner continues to handle management, couldn’t we adjust the price somewhat?”

 

I wasn’t interested in management rights themselves.

 

I already had plenty to do and didn’t want to handle company management on top of that.

 

“If management rights aren’t the goal, why do you need so many Equity Shares?”

 

“I want to try properly developing it once. Even if the Founding Owner handles company management, I need a certain amount of Equity Shares to get involved in Game development and operations.”

 

“So the Founding Owner would lead The Company, and you would handle operations, Song Sang-yeon. Management and operations are similar but definitely different concepts.”

 

The desire to try developing a Company from the beginning.

 

Even if I couldn’t handle every detail, I wanted to provide the direction and strategy myself.

 

To freely apply the ideas floating in my head, I had to become the largest shareholder.

 

And there were too many ideas that I was reluctant to give to others.

 

To properly utilize such ideas, I needed a Game Company that I could control.

 

“I have the desire to try operating it my way once. If you oppose this, I’ll establish a new Equity Shares acquisition plan from scratch.”

 

“If you want to do it, you should. It’s not just anyone but you who wants to do this, Song Sang-yeon, so why would I have reason to stop you?”

 

“Thank you for trusting me.”

 

“This will be an interesting competition. I’m jumping into the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle, while you’re jumping into the Neo Marvel acquisition battle, Song Sang-yeon.”

 

The General Manager was really preparing for the Hanseo Bank acquisition.

 

He was holding meetings with Financial District personnel daily, and contact with Overseas capital was also increasing.

 

“Are you really planning to go through with acquiring Hanseo Bank?”

 

“Of course. Moreover, thanks to the credit scoring system the Deputy Branch Manager created, Hanseo Card’s non-performing loans are noticeably decreasing. Thanks to that, the Financial Authorities view us very favorably.”

 

“I heard new customer registrations have also increased significantly.”

 

Hanseo Card’s new issuance volume had more than doubled.

 

It was especially popular among young people in their 20s and 30s, which led to rapidly increasing sales.

 

“We conducted a survey targeting new customers. Do you know what the number one reason was for choosing Hanseo Card?”

 

“Wasn’t it because of the connection with Rollbook?”

 

“That was second place. First place was… simply because the card was pretty.”

 

“I didn’t anticipate that emotional design would draw this much attention.”

 

Yu Min-jung was exactly right.

 

There was a significant customer base that valued emotional design over benefits.

 

This was an emotional aspect beyond what I could have predicted.

 

“There are quite a few customers who prefer pretty designs. And their main card usage locations are crowded places like cafes and restaurants.”

 

“Are you saying they use it in those places to show off their cards?”

 

“I can’t understand it by my standards, but there’s no other explanation.”

 

“It’s receiving enough attention to overcome entry barriers.”

 

We applied the credit scoring system to new customers as well.

 

These customers didn’t mind the complex and troublesome process.

 

They even made efforts to improve their credit scores to get Hanseo Cards issued.

 

More precisely, only the Rollbook Card issuance rate among Hanseo Cards had increased significantly.

 

“I heard Rollbook Card inventory is running short.”

 

“As card issuance increased, Rollbook Point Shop sales also increased noticeably.”

 

“It’s a good virtuous cycle structure. Thanks to that, Hanseo Card’s performance improved, and ultimately we were able to jump into the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle.”

 

“Are the Financial Authorities viewing the current situation very positively?”

 

Hanseo Card had once been troubled by non-performing loans.

 

Since we improved such a troubled card company in a short period, it was natural for the Financial Authorities to show a favorable attitude.

 

“Quite positive. The problem is… Cali Fund is reacting very sensitively to the acquisition battle. They’re mobilizing all their connections to prevent us from participating at all.”

 

“Then we might not be able to enter the acquisition battle at all.”

 

“That’s possible. Since they’ve been preparing for a long time, they’re in a much more advantageous position. But there is a breakthrough.”

 

The General Manager showed confidence.

 

Though we were at a disadvantage with Financial Authority connections, there seemed to be a different breakthrough strategy.

 

“If the Financial Authorities block us, there’s nothing we can do about it, right?”

 

“Do you know what public officials fear most? The media. These kinds of deals need to be handled quietly so everyone can share the benefits. But the moment the media gets involved, the whole game changes.”

 

“But if that happens, won’t the Financial Authorities view us unfavorably? It might benefit us in this acquisition, but it could be detrimental next time.”

 

There was no way the General Manager didn’t know what I knew.

 

There was nothing good about making enemies of the Financial Authorities, and unless we were planning to shut down the Korean Branch after this deal, we absolutely couldn’t directly attack the Financial Authorities.

 

“When did I say I would directly attack the Financial Authorities? I have no such intention.”

 

“Are you planning to have someone else attack through the media?”

 

“Exactly. I’m thinking of using Deutsche Bank to wage a media war. Actually, it’s hardly even a plan. I’m just passing positive materials about Hanseo Bank to Deutsche Bank.”

 

Using Barbarians to Control Barbarians.

 

It was a strategy that had been around since ancient times, but there was no more effective move than this.

 

And the Branch Manager had already passed the relevant materials to Deutsche Bank.

 

“Will Deutsche Bank engage in Media Play?”

 

“We have to make them. You know how the Germans are – once they get fired up, they don’t cool down easily.”

 

“I’ll have to keep an eye on the newspapers every day.”

 

“Very soon, a very interesting article will grace the front page of the newspapers.”

 

Looking at the General Manager’s words and actions, it seemed like he actually had no interest in acquiring Hanseo Bank.

 

He was just putting his heart and soul into screwing over Cali Fund somehow.

 

From the outside, it would look like he was overflowing with acquisition enthusiasm, but to my eyes, it looked like sincere bullshit.

 

***

 

For the first time in a while, I stopped by MaxCoffee Store #1 on my way to work.

 

Dozens of people were lined up from early morning, and they were all using the kiosks skillfully.

 

“No problems with the kiosks?”

 

“Oh, son’s here? Everything’s running perfectly. The order time has decreased so the turnover rate is much better.”

 

“Hey! Please get in line!”

 

“He’s not a customer. I’ll see you at home after work!”

 

I just exchanged glances with my parents and headed to the company.

 

Then, as I passed the newspaper stand at the bus stop.

 

I was able to directly confirm that the interesting news the General Manager had mentioned had broken.

 

[Hanseo Bank Acquisition, A Rigged Game?]

 

[Suspicions of Special Treatment for Unqualified Private Equity Fund]

 

[Bank Sale for Whose Benefit?]

 

[Hanseo Bank Being Sold to Overseas Capital at Rock-Bottom Prices]

 

Every newspaper was plastered with articles about Hanseo Bank.

 

When I entered the office after buying newspapers of various types, the General Manager had already spread several newspapers on the conference room desk and called me over.

 

He seemed to be enjoying the current situation, holding back explosive laughter.

 

“The media play has already begun.”

 

“That’s right. Those German guys are fast. How are the articles? They came out well, didn’t they?”

 

“But the information contained in the articles is quite specific. There’s considerable content that would be hard to know unless you’re an insider.”

 

“They made very good use of the materials I provided. And the Financial Authorities have various lines too. There are many lines that keep each other in check.”

 

Once again, I thought I must never make an enemy of the General Manager.

 

He was a master at tormenting enemies by any means necessary.

 

“What happens now? If the media makes such a fuss about this, couldn’t the Financial Authorities withdraw the Hanseo Bank sale plan?”

 

“It’s fine if they withdraw it, or it’s fine if they change the acquisition rules.”

 

“The rules could change?”

 

“They already changed the rules once for Cali Fund. Once is difficult, but twice is easy.”

 

Originally, Cali Fund didn’t even have acquisition qualifications.

 

But the Financial Authorities quietly modified the regulations, and thanks to that, Cali Fund was able to forcibly enter the acquisition battle.

 

“With this precedent, the Financial Authorities will have a lot to think about.”

 

“If the rules are modified, we’ll be able to receive the same benefits that only Cali Fund was getting.”

 

“What happens if the current rules are maintained?”

 

“Then it would proceed as a sole bid by Cali Fund. But would a sole bid be possible in this current atmosphere?”

 

A sole bid couldn’t possibly look good to the public.

 

Because the atmosphere itself is different from competitive bidding.

 

As the media said, it could really appear like a ‘rigged game.’

 

“If the regulations are relaxed, there will be many competitors.”

 

“At minimum, there will be 4 places including us. Bidding becomes interesting when there are many competitors.”

 

“What if we actually end up winning the bid?”

 

“That would be good. We’d just need to operate Hanseo Bank well.”

 

Was this sincere bluffing?

 

The General Manager was speaking as if it would be good to raise the stakes through bluffing, but even better if we happened to take the whole pot.

 

“I learned something new again today.”

 

“Haha, it’s fine if you don’t learn this kind of thing. But how is the Neo Marvel acquisition going?”

 

“We’re scheduled to proceed with negotiations today.”

 

“If things go well, we might be able to acquire Neo Marvel today. Well now, I’ve fallen behind.”

 

There was no comparison in terms of scale.

 

The Hanseo Bank acquisition required funds in the trillions, but the Neo Marvel acquisition would be sufficient with just a few billion won.

 

“I’ll finish the Neo Marvel acquisition and immediately join the Hanseo Bank acquisition battle.”

 

“I’d be grateful if you did that.”

 

“But you seem to be in quite a good mood. Is interfering with Cali Fund that enjoyable for you?”

 

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not because of Cali Fund, but because I’m in a good mood from making big profits through short selling. IT technology stocks have started declining again recently.”

 

IT technology stocks were like a roller coaster.

 

After April 14th, which recorded the largest drop in history, stock prices rose again due to technical rebounds, and at that timing, the General Manager built massive short selling positions.

 

Of course, I had actively recommended it too.

 

I couldn’t just sit quietly and listen to the discord coming from IT technology stocks.

 

“If the current market conditions repeat just a few more times, you’ll be able to fulfill all the promises you made at your inauguration ceremony, General Manager.”

 

“Isn’t it fascinating? There are still so many people who don’t believe in the IT bubble.”

 

“It seems the madness hasn’t fully subsided yet.”

 

“It’ll probably take about two more years for the real bubble to completely burst. Thanks to that, we can continue making money the same way.”

 

The General Manager’s short selling strategy stemmed from the conviction that IT technology stocks would eventually collapse.

 

In the financial industry, including Wall Street, reports claiming ‘IT isn’t over yet’ were still overflowing.

 

Whether they were sincere or acting to lure individual investors, from our perspective, favorable market conditions continued.

 

“I’ll continue monitoring technology stock trends.”

 

“As soon as Employee Lee gives a danger signal, we’ll stop short selling immediately. Oh, and there’s a place we need to go together soon.”

 

“I suppose you won’t tell me where… as usual?”

 

“You’ll know when we go there directly. A big elder in the Korean business community says he wants to meet us.”

 

A big elder in the Korean business community?

 

Various faces flashed through my mind.

 

From the chairman of the Korea Federation of Industries to the heads of large corporations.

 

But I couldn’t know exactly who it was, and the answer would only be revealed with time.

 

The New Employee with 1 Trillion Won Annual Salary Chapter 69

 

E-book Publication Date | 2025.11.27

 

Author | Seo Oh

 

Publishers | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won

 

Published by | Poten

 

Address | [04783] 10th Floor, 8 Yeonmujang 11-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul

 

Phone | 02-6320-8500

 

Fax | 02-6320-8585

 

ISBN | 9791175305892

 

Price | 100 won

 

ⓒ Seo Oh 2025

 

This e-book is a copyrighted work protected by copyright law.

 

This e-book has been published under the author’s contract, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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